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Design Research: Project Conception Lauren Serota Professor, Austin Center for Design
Research Methods
This deck is part of a series - Preparing for Design Research: I. Project Conception II. Project Planning III. Skills & Tools
This deck is part of a series - Preparing for Design Research: I. Project Conception
I. Budget & Team II. Success Criteria - Team & Client Alignment III. Artifact-Based Deliverables
II. Project Planning III. Skills & Tools
Design research is logistically challenging. The research team must be quick on their feet, yet organized.
Budget & Team
Research Methods
Time Conservatively, Design Research takes: 3 weeks to plan 1-2 weeks to field 2-3 weeks to synthesize 1 week for deliverable creation Variables: -Number of markets -Number of participants -Length of sessions -Complexity of topic/synthesis -Complexity of deliverable -Media used (video production adds significant time) -Client participation (high participation adds time)
Research Methods
Materials Travel costs, recruiting costs* and any additional PM/oversight costs should be considered. Consider the artifacts you will need – both to plan your research and to conduct your research. Also consider printing costs for deliverables. *Recruiting costs will be discussed in more detail later
Research Methods
Team A solid team is necessary to successful Design Research. Having team members who can think on their feet, are passionate, patient and curious is critical. It can be an uncomfortable process where beliefs are challenged and ego must be suspended. Team Make-up: • at least 2 core team members, full-time • 1 project manager • As multi-disciplinary as possible • A mix of gender is ideal. It can make participants more comfortable.
Research Methods
Design Research is a fun adventure. It requires intense work and intense hours. Collaboration and teamwork is key!
Success Criteria: Team & Client Alignment
Research Methods Design Research is about asking the right questions of the right people at the right time. It starts by doing so with your team and your client.
Research Methods
These questions include (but aren’t limited to):
What are your expectations out of our engagement? What does success look like? How much time do we have to do this? What key questions do you have about X topic? What do you already know about X topic? Who are your current customers? Who are your future customers? Where are your current/future customers located?
Research Methods
First, create alignment within your team and hypothesize the answers to these questions via an internal kick-off and collaborative session.
Research Methods
Project Goals – Team & Client Alignment
Next, have a Project Kick-off with the client. Get all stakeholders in the room. Ask them difficult questions. Summarize at the end.(We’ll talk more about creative facilitation this Friday)
Research Methods
Success criteria may be defined as a question to be answered: “What is the customer journey for someone
experiencing a chronic illness, and how might we play a role?”
Research Methods
Or as a vision statement – a “north star” to guide the team:
“Deliver a customer-centric shopping experience for our existing and new customers, that moves us from lagging in the market to leader.”
Artifact-Based Deliverables
Research Methods Deliverables are based on the project’s success criteria. Let’s use our examples from earlier…
Research Methods
What might be a good deliverable for this particular question? “What is the customer journey for someone
experiencing a chronic illness, and how might we play a role?”
Research Methods
What deliverable might we present in this engagement?
“Deliver a customer-centric shopping experience for our existing and new customers, that moves us from lagging in the market to leader.”
Research Methods Never underestimate the power of examples. Showing examples of deliverables to help the client and team understand the fidelity of the work after each phase is critical. This will set client expectations for the output of the creative process, as well as align the team on the fidelity and state that needs to be achieved.
Rather than saying “we will deliver core customer needs,” show them how those look, what they are and how to use them.
Rather than saying “including rough concepts shown via storyboard,” show them a rough concept in a storyboard.
(Source: frog design Future of Health)
Now, on to the fun stuff!
Lauren Serota Professor, Austin Center for Design [email protected]
Download our free book, Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving, at http://www.wickedproblems.com
